Once widely used for lubrication and candle wax, tallow is now primarily used in the production of certain biofuels. Commercially, it may be found in some shaving products.

What are The Tests?

Animals used in laboratory tests include mice, rats, dogs, cats, and rabbits, and many more. The kinds of tests done on animals vary and are not always by name, as are the two below.

Commonly, testing is performed on animals to determine toxicity (how poisonous a substance is), irritancy (how a substance reacts with animal tissue), or mutagenicity (how a substance affects DNA).

Draize Test

When you first heard products like shampoos were tested on the same bunny rabbits you saw at the pet store, you might have imagined these rabbits getting their fur washed on a daily basis.

Actually, tests like the Draize test are tests for toxicity. The Draize test involves dabbing a substance in the eye of a conscious animal (often a rabbit) and letting it linger to study its possible effects on the human eye.

Why are rabbits used specifically? Because rabbits have no tear ducts.

Median Lethal Dose

The Median Lethal Dose, also known as LD50, is a metric of toxicity determined by the dosage required to kill half of a group of animals.

For example this test shows it takes 90,000 mg/kg of water (yes, water) or 50 mg/kg of Nicotine to kill half of a group of rats.

Homemade Cleaning Products

While there are plenty of excellent products not tested on animals, it's often dramatically cheaper to just make them yourself!

Please note, some commercial products in the attached media are not vegan.

Companies that Test or Don't Test on Animals

I believe veganism is the most important social justice movement today and is the most important form of activism one can engage in.

Trisha Roberts

I'm Vegan: Sandy

Sandy talks about her journey to understanding animal rights and her becoming a vegan with her husband.

I'm Vegan: Minku

Long time vegan Minku Sharma talks about his transition into taking the beliefs he already had and applying them to nonhumans.

Human beings have capitalized on the silence of animals, just as certain human beings have historically imposed silence on certain other human beings by denying slaves the right to literacy, denying women the right to own property, and denying both the right to vote.